FLORIDA WEEKLY WEATHER-CROP NEWS Week ending February 15, 1998 Released 4:00 P.M. February 17, 1998 WEATHER SUMMARY: Windy, cool conditions accompanied by scattered showers and some early morning fog occurred during the week of February 8 through 14. Temperatures for the week averaged mostly three degrees below normal. Most daytime highs were in the 60s and 70s while most nighttime lows were in the 40s and 50s. Jacksonville and Valparaiso each recorded at least one low in the 30s. Scattered rain totaled from traces to a quarter inch of rain during the week. The passage of low pressure systems over the southeast United States on Sunday, February 15 through Tuesday, February 17 brought large amounts of rain to most localities. Rain totals from these storms ranged from two and a half to over seven inches. Strong winds, hail, and tornadoes accompanying the storms toppled trees and damaged many roofs, mobile homes, and other private property. The Everglades, Dade County and some other southern localities escaped most of the effects of these storms except for the strong winds. Miami reported only trace amounts of rain on Monday, February 16. FIELD CROPS: Topsoil moisture is mostly adequate to surplus throughout the State with flooded fields in some areas. Sugarcane growth is normal. Sugarcane harvest is active. Tobacco growers are taking care of plant beds. There are no disease problems in the tobacco plant beds. Field preparations for spring planted crops are being delayed by wet conditions. Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 0 0 0 0 Short 0 3 0 0 Adequate 27 46 33 43 Surplus 73 51 67 57 LIVESTOCK AND PASTURES: All areas of the State reported some pastures were flooded from rains of the past couple weeks. In the Panhandle, small grain winter pasture growth is severely affected by dwarf virus disease. Cold and flooding have also resulted in poor pasture condition. In the northern counties, cold weather has hampered pasture growth. In the west central area, the condition of the cattle has fallen off some due to the wet pastures. Pastures were in poor to fair condition due to heavy rain. In the southwest, pastures were being burned so new grass can come through. Winter pastures were in better shape than in the past due to the recent rains. Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 5 0 0 0 Poor 40 50 15 15 Fair 45 40 65 40 Good 10 10 20 45 Excellent 0 0 0 0 CITRUS: There was very little rain this week until Sunday, February 15, when showers and thunderstorms covered the citrus belt. High temperatures in the mid to upper 70s were the rule most of the week with lows in the upper 40s to the 50s. New growth is now starting to show much more rapidly along with pinhead to pencil eraser size bloom buds. The southern part of the citrus belt is generally more developed than the other areas as is usual. Harvest of early and mid oranges is slowing as supplies are depleted in most areas. Grapefruit movement is heaviest on the lower east coast with the lower interior still moving large amounts. Harvest of Temples and Honey tangerines continues active with a lot more of the Temples going to be processed. Early tangerines and tangelo harvest are all but complete for this season. Caretakers are mowing, chopping, and discing cover crops before harvest crews arrive. A few growers with large blocks of fruit are applying herbicides. Hedging and topping remain active. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Feb 1 Feb 8 Feb 15 Navel oranges 128,000 74,000 54,000 Early & Mid oranges 9,524,000 8,825,000 7,576,000 Valencia oranges 79,000 222,000 558,000 All grapefruit 1,424,000 1,721,000 1,683,000 Tangerines 17,000 24,000 10,000 Honey tangerines 89,000 97,000 108,000 Temples 137,000 235,000 255,000 Tangelos 118,000 67,000 30,000 VEGETABLES: Clear weather during most of the week let growers advance harvesting. However, the storms over Sunday February 15 through Tuesday, February 17 tossed plants, blew sand which scarred fruit, and left muddy fields in the West Central, Southwest, East Coast, Zellwood, and most northern growing regions. Vegetables harvested during the week include snap beans, cabbage, carrots, celery, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, escarole, lettuce, parsley, peppers, potatoes, radishes, squash, Chinese cabbage, strawberries, and tomatoes. SNAP BEANS: Dade--Crop condition is fair. Strong winds continue to toss plants with wind-borne sand scarring some beans. Picking continues with good quality available. Yield is low due to above normal gradeout. East Coast--Plant growth and develop ment are slow. Harvesting of a light volume is active with variable but mostly good quality available. Gradeout is above normal due to scarred beans. Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Recent storms broke some stems, burned leaves on some plants, and scarred some beans. Planting is active. Picking is yielding fair quality. West Central--Land preparations for spring crop planting continues as weather permits. CABBAGE: Wet fields are problems in all areas of the State with scattered flooding. Dade--Cabbage is being cut on a weekly schedule when fields will allow with fair quality and good yields. West Central--Crop condition is fair. Growth and development are slow to normal. Harvest is steady. Head quality is fair and size on green is small to medium. Color of heads is fair. Planting is winding down. Central, Hastings--Crop condition is normal. Growth and development are normal. Harvest is steady. Quality is mostly good. Everglades--Light supplies are available. CARROTS: Zellwood--Harvesting continued until muddy fields prevented digging on February 16 and 17. SWEET CORN: Dade--Crop condition is good. Strong winds on Sunday, February 16 again blew plants over with most expected to recover. Picking continues with fair quality available. Yield is good. Volume is expected to be good for the next six weeks. East Coast--Crop condition is variable with warmer weather needed to boost development. Picking continues with a moderate volume marketed. Volume is expected to increase as more acreage reaches maturity. Everglades--Strong winds again blew plants with no significant damage expected. Picking of spring acreage is expected to begin soon. Southwest--Condition is fair to good. Strong winds blew plants over with full recovery expected. Planting remains steady. CUCUMBERS: East Coast--Condition is variable with wind breaks protecting most acreage from damage. Plant growth is slow due to the cool temperatures. Planting is active. Germination is good. Southwest--Condition of oldest acreage is poor to fair. Harvesting is nearing the end. Quality is mostly fair. Planting continues to increase. West Central--Planting started with crop condition rated fair. EGGPLANT: East Coast--Plant growth remains slow. Light planting is active. Harvesting of a light volume is producing fancy and choice grades. Workers are cleaning acreage completely cut. Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Planting is finished. Plant growth is slow. Cutting of a light volume continues at a steady pace. Quality is fair with some scarred fruit graded out. Dade--Strong winds continue to fracture limbs and scar fruit. West Central--Condition is fair as planting begins. ESCAROLE/ENDIVE: Everglades--Harvesting continued. Most plants are expected to recover from the recent wind damage. LETTUCE: Everglades--Harvesting remains active with most acreage to recover from the strong winds. OKRA: Dade--Harvesting is over. Planting of summer crop acreage is expected to start in two to three weeks. PEPPERS: Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Planting is nearing the end. Plant growth is slow. Harvesting remains steady. Quality is fair to good. East Coast--Plant growth is slow. Planting remains active with some young plants reset due to damage from earlier storms. Green Bell picking is yielding a mostly moderate volume. Crown picks of green Bells are providing good quality. Growers continue to pick a light volume of red Bells and specialty types. Workers are cutting strings, pulling stakes, and mowing fields completely picked, as weather permits. West Central--Planting is increasing seasonally with some activity delayed due to storms and wet ground. POTATOES: Wet fields are a problem in all areas of the State with scattered areas of flooding. Southwest--Crop is in fair to good condition. Growth and development are slow to normal. Potato harvest is steady. Potatoes harvested are of good quality. Dade--Some fields were killed by growers. The first digging should start before the end of February. Spraying is controlling disease. West Central--Crop is in poor to fair condition. Growth and development are slow to normal. Fields are really in bad shape due to rain and wind. Hastings--Potato planting is behind schedule because of the wet weather. Potatoes are in good condition. Growth and development are slow because of the cooler than normal temperatures. RADISHES: Everglades--Digging continues. Quality is gener ally good. Zellwood--Harvesting continued until the storms. SQUASH: Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Harvesting remains active with fair quality available. Strong winds again damaged some plants and scarred some fruit on Sunday through Tuesday, February 15-17. East Coast--Crop development is slow. Growers picked a light volume from the oldest fields with workers cleaning acreage completely harvested. Planting is light. Dade-- Crop condition ranges good to poor. Most plants are recovering from recent wind damage. Harvesting remains active with yield average. Volume is expected to increase in about two weeks. STRAWBERRIES: Plant City, Palmetto-Ruskin--Plants are in mostly good condition. Picking was steady until the rains arrived. Dade--U-Pic harvesting remains active. TOMATOES: Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Plant growth is slow. Transplanting is nearing the end. Cooler tempera tures are delaying maturation of some acreage. Harvesting is steady with mostly good quality available. Packout is normal to slightly below normal. East Coast--Crop condition is variable and ranges fair to good. Growers are resetting youngest plants damaged by recent strong winds. Picking remains active. Dade-- Crop condition remains fair with young plants in good condition. Mostly clear weather aided plant growth and fruit development. Harvesting continues. Yield is fair. Quality is good. Palmetto- Ruskin--The crop remains in poor to fair condition. Planting is active between showers. Workers are applying fertilizer to replace that leached by the heavy rains. Quincy--Growers are laying plastic for spring crop planting between storms with progress about half finished. CHERRY TOMATOES: Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition remains fair with some plants damaged by recent storms. Planting is nearing the end. Harvesting is steady between rains. Fruit quality is fair. Sizes are fair to good. Southwest--Condition is fair to good with some plants hurt by the recent storms. Picking continues between showers. Quality is fair to good. PLUM TOMATOES: Southwest--The crop is in fair to good condition with some damage from recent storms. Harvesting of fair to good quality is active as weather permits. Palmetto-Ruskin-- The crop shows damage from recent adverse weather with condition rated poor to fair. Planting is mostly steady between the rains. WATERMELONS: Southwest--Plants show damage from the recent adverse weather but are expected to recover. Planting is steady. West Central--Growers reset some plants significantly damaged by the recent adverse weather with most planting continuing at a steady pace.